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WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Giving a stranger a kidney? 'Typical' for Lowell's Shannon Gouveia

By Sarah Favot, sfavot@lowellsun.com

Updated:
01/15/2013 12:34:26 PM EST

LOWELL -- Alvaro Gouveia was in the living room watching television one night after the kids were asleep when his wife started talking to him from the other room about a woman named Olga who needed a kidney.

Shannon Gouveia, 39, was on Facebook, looking at a page her sister had shared about Olga Gauthier, who was looking for someone willing to donate their kidney to her.

"She's the same age as me and the same blood type," Alvaro recalled his wife saying. Later, his wife told him that she was just going to send an email to see if she could get tested to find out if she was an organ-donor match.

Alvaro thought his wife was crazy.

That casual conversation culminated months later when Shannon found out she was a match, and in October donated her kidney to Gauthier, of Dracut.

Gauthier has polycystic kidney disease and had been on a transplant list for a new kidney since June 2010.

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Gouveia's selfless act for a stranger earned her The Sun's inaugural 2012 "Woman of the Year" recognition.

During months of testing, Alvaro supported his wife but remained cautiously skeptical about the odds that she would be a match.

"In my mind, I didn't want to tell her she's wasting her time, but I was still thinking what are the chances," he said.

But then he remembered the reasons why he married Shannon -- her honesty and caring about doing the right thing.

Gouveia, who works in the Lowell City Clerk's Office, said she had a feeling from the beginning she would be a perfect match to a perfect stranger. Looking over Gauthier's Facebook page, she said she felt she knew her.

Olga Gauthier's story of a woman struggling through dialysis treatments, working full time and being too exhausted at the end of the day to play with her daughter, touched Gouveia.

Nobody in her family was surprised when Gouveia told them she wanted to donate her kidney to a stranger.

"That's so typical of her to do things like that," said her mother, Carole Dinsmore. "She'll go out of her way and help anybody as much as she possibly can."

Her sister, Rachelle Kaduboski, who sent her the link to Gauthier's Facebook page, said Gouveia is the type of person who if you call in the middle of the night stranded on the road somewhere, she will jump out of bed and soon be there to offer help.

Dinsmore recalled that her daughter brought a family into her home because the electric company had shut off the home's electricity as it had been foreclosed on.

Gouveia then called one of the city councilors to help the family get electricity turned back on.

Alvaro said his wife will often bring their son's friends camping to Vermont.

She'll notice the friends who don't get the opportunity to go on a trip and ask their parents if the can join, Alvaro said.

Gouveia said her generous spirit was shaped by her mother.

Christmases were spent preparing care packages and baking for some of the various shelters around the city.

Dinsmore, who was with Gouveia the morning of the surgery, said she was nervous and her daughter was excited for the transplant.

The only time Gouveia got emotional about giving her kidney to a stranger was when she read a message sent to her from the recipient's husband days before the transplant surgery.

"Thank you very much for doing this for my wife. You're an angel," the message read.

Gouveia said she cried when she read the message because Gauthier's husband knew about the pain his wife was going through after months of dialysis treatment.

But Gouveia shies away from the "angel" or "hero" title.

Gouveia loves watching reality television and shopping. She loves hopping in her car and taking a road trip. She is looking forward to going to North Carolina to see her son RJ, a Marine, who is home from deployment in Iraq, and her only grandchild, Rylan, who will be celebrating his first birthday.

Gouveia said she didn't anticipate the overwhelming attention she's received from her sacrifice, which has included newspaper stories and a City Council proclamation. She said if she knew the spotlight would be on her, she might not have done it.

But the best part, she said, is to see Gauthier feeling better and able to be the kind of mom she wants to be for her daughter Ava.

"Just knowing that she's not so sick anymore, that's the best feeling ever -- to know that you helped someone who was so sick," said Gouveia.

Favorite activity: Spending time with her children and grandchild, camping and traveling.

Favorite thing about Greater Lowell: Its diversity. I love all the different backgrounds, food and culture.

What Woman of the Year voters said

Following are among the comments made by voters in support of Shannon Gouveia for Woman of the Year:

cindy13016: Shannon Gouveia is an amazing woman who helped save the life of a total stranger. Shannon gave Olga her life back to spend with her family friends and most of all her daughter, Now that's a woman of the year!!

OlgaG: Shannon deserves this honor for the selflessness she shown for me, a complete stranger. We are now friends and our life will be intertwined forever!!! Her selfless act has not only helped me but my family as well, especially my daughter Ava!! Shannon is an amazing woman!!!!!

spalmer7: What Shannon is simply amazing. Live donating to a friend/loved one is remarkable in itself, but Shannon went above and beyond that! Donated her kidney to a stranger from a Facebook page is truly the most amazing acts of kindness and respect for human life one can do. Although this isn't a big surprise for those who know Shannon, as THIS is the kind of person she is! I cant think of any better person for Woman of the Year!!

The runners-up

Lydia Sisson: Sisson has worked at the United Teen Equality Center, and in 2011 teamed up with Francey Slater to start Mill City Grows, an initiative that has started community and school gardens to promote local food access in Lowell.

Dorcas Grigg-Saito: Grigg-Saito, executive director of the Lowell Community Health Center, led the organization through a $45 million renovation project at its new downtown Jackson Street location.

How honorees were selected

The 2013 Man of the Year and Woman of the Year were chosen as follows:

* Nominations were solicited in print and on The Sun News Facebook page.

* Readers voted for their favorites on lowellsun.com and by mail, to determine the three finalists for both Man of the Year and Woman of the Year.

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